I have applied for a photography course and I am required to bring with me to an interview a portfolio containing 10 photographs that explore the 'theme of identity'. Does anybody have any ideas as to what I could actually take pictures of for it? My brother gave me the idea of getting a few flags such as British, Scottish, Wales and Ireland and getting people close to me eg. family and friends, to stand in a line and have them hold the flags up and photograph it. but what else could I do that is unusual and stands out? I am trying to think out of the box but I am struggling! I only have 2 weeks to complete this project. Please help! :arghh:
I can only add to what's already been said. They have set this brief to see how you interpret the theme creatively. Asking others to come up with ideas for you is basically cheating, and if you did that in order to get on the course because you can't think of how to interpret the theme, how are you going to cope with teh rest of the course? You going to cheat all the way through?
This is a test to see what you do about it. Why not go and research the idea of identity. My advice is NOT to type that into Google and then click "images" as you'll just discover a load of trite, unimaginative images, or stock stuff. Look at stuff like Byker suggests a few posts up. El Tantawny's work is a great example. Also older stuff like Cindy Sherman. Another good example is the French artist and photographer
JR's project in Isreal.
Look at how these people are thinking about identity.
Now.. don't just copy what you see.... get an idea of how others "see" identity. What does it mean to YOU? Is identity just your country? There's so much to explore here... race, religion, culture, social class, politics, gender... the list is almost as endless as the variations in our cultures themselves.
This is the test.
Asking for ideas on what to shoot is simply cheating. If YOU can't think of a way to interpret that theme, then maybe you're not right for the course. There's more to photography than taking photographs. Go and do some research... broaden your horizons a little. You're taking your first steps away from hobbyist recording, and attempting to become a critically thinking visual creative - it's hard... go and do some work and EARN your place on the course.
Incidentally.. what course is it?